Holography of Biomimetic Structures Based on Butterfly Wings for Image Sensing

Signal detection and imaging in invisible spectral regions is interesting in both military and civil applications. This work examines the possibility of making a camera that would use the thermophoretic effect on certain biomimetic microstructures caused by radiation coming from the broad spectral range. The microstructures are inspired by the micron lamellae that we find in butterfly wings, and a proposed imaging device would not be limited to visible light but could be sensitive in other parts of the spectrum (ultraviolet and infrared). The microstructures are ordered in a pixelized focal point array (FPA). This device would not be based on bimaterial thermal expansion as some previous optomechanical imaging devices [1], but on thermophoresis aided by air molecules at normal pressure.